Tin can construction



March 17, 1953' J. C. CASEY TIN CAN CONSTRUCTION Filed July 18,

IN VEN TOR. John 6. Casey Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in tin can construction, particularly that type of tin can wherein the sealed cover is cut therefrom through the use of a can opener, and to provide means whereby the severed top of the can will be held against falling into the contents of the can.

A further object is to provide a means for raising the severed top through a tipping action so that it may be readily grasped and removed.

A further object is to produce a can which can be manufactured in the ordinary can-making machines without materially altering their construction.

A further object is to produce a can which will be filled, sealed and handled in the ordinary manner.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a can constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section, showing the manner in which the severed lid may be tipped.

The ordinary tin can in which food is processed for storage, merely consists of a cylindrical body, having a top and a bottom crimped thereto, and in order to gain access to the contents, it is necessary and customary to cut out the top of the can, which, when severed, becomes an independent disc, and oftentimes this disc will drop down into the contents of the can, carrying therewith dirt or other foreign matter which may be adhering to the top of the can.

It is principally to avoid this difficulty that applicant has devised a means whereby when the cover is severed it will remain at the top of the can until manually removed in an upward direction.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the cylindrica1 portion of a can having a bottom 6 and a top I.

My invention consists in offsetting the material of the cylindrical portion of the can so as to form inwardly projecting protuberances 8 adjacent to the top and bottom of the can.

These protuberances are preferably positioned 120 degrees apart so that the chord between any two protuberances will be less than the diameter 2 of the can, the purpose of which will be later seen.

The result of this construction is that when the top is severed from the cylindrical portion, it will remain supported upon the protuberances as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3.

If the user wil1 now press upon the edge of the severed portion as indicated by the finger A in Fig. 3, the severed portion will tip, and due to the short leverage on the pressure side, the severed top will be lifted a sufficient distance to be grasped with a very short downward movement of the finger, thus eliminating the possibility of the top of the can entering and contaminating the contents of the can.

It is apparent that pressure at any point around the edge of the severed top Will produce the same result; the only points where it would not cause a tipping action would be directly over the protuberances.

It is obvious that if the can is turned upside down, then what was the bottom will become the top, and the operation wil1 be identical.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A can comprising a cylindrical body portion, having a top and a bottom sealed thereto, spaced inwardly projecting protuberances formed in said cylindrical portion, adjacent to the top and bottom margins thereof, the adjacent protuberances being spaced degrees apart, said protuberances forming fulcrums for the severed top or bottom.

JOHN C. CASEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,115,081 Metgzer et al Oct. 27, 1914 2,195,506 Williams et a1 Apr. 2, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 101,842 Great Britain Oct. 26, 1916 752,214 France July 10, 1933 

